What??? 8 raviolis for $8? Not if I make them myself…

Well, I guess the title says it all. One time I was lucky enough to dine at Vespaio, the Italian restaurant on South Congress. In my opinion, it’s about as close as Austin can hope to get to real Italian food. I once heard Austin’s lack of good Italian food compared to the lack of good breakfast tacos everywhere else, and I think that statement has some definite truth in it. ANYway. So at Vespaio, I got a delicious dish of butternut squash ravioli in a sage sauce, and it was so good that I still think about it. With the reappearance of squash now that it’s fall, the dish popped into my head again and I HAD to have some butternut squash ravioli. So off I went to Central Market, where I thought I recalled purchasing some frozen pumpkin tortellini once, or something else that was sufficiently close to butternut squash ravioli. Well, there was nothing of the sort in the frozen section, but then I discovered the fresh pasta section, and there they were: beautiful, plump, pumpkin ravioli! Oh, but wait. $8 for a package of 8?? That’s absurd. I might as well just go eat at Vespaio again.

It may be the artist in me, or my stubborn frugality, but the idea of making the ravioli myself sounded quite appealing. Then I started looking for recipes,and realized that I have none of the equipment necessary for making pasta dough. But after reviewing more recipes, I noticed that several recipes recommended store-bought fresh pasta dough as an easier substitute. So I went back to Central Market, and purchased a package of sheet pasta (technically for lasagna, but what does it matter?), a butternut squash, and some fresh sage. Now I realize that at this point, I might as well have just bought the 8 raviolis, but I knew the stuff I had would make more and I could flavor everything to my liking. That is what I did, and here is my recipe:

Butternut Squash Ravioli in Sage-Brown Butter Sauce

4 servings, and probably some leftovers

1 1 lb. Butternut Squash*, split horizontally, seeds and stringy stuff removed

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp Kosher Salt

assorted spices/seasonings (recommended: dark brown sugar, freshly cracked pepper, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, etc. My goal was to make this taste like autumn).

1 package fresh pasta dough, in sheets approx. 4 in. x 8 in. (may be labelled as lasagna dough)

1 egg white, whisked with 1 tbsp water

6 tbsp butter

1 small bunch (approx. 15-20) fresh sage leaves, washed, patted dry, stems removed

Grated parmesan, grana padano, or pecorino-romano cheese for garnish

4 oz. Toasted** walnuts, chopped

Equipment: baking sheet, mixing bowl, rolling pin, pastry cutter/paring knife, small, preferably stainless steel sauté pan, large pot for pasta

Preheat your oven to 400° F. With the largest, sharpest knife you have, split the butternut squash by placing it wide end (and flat bottom) down on a cutting board, then slicing from the stem end down. Whichever hand isn’t holding the handle of the knife should have the palm on the blunt edge of the knife so your fingers won’t be in the path of the blade. Remove the seeds and stringy bits (a grapefruit spoon works well for this). Place the squash halves cut side up on a lightly oiled baking sheet (cover with foil for easier cleanup), and brush the olive oil all over the cut surfaces, letting some pool in the hole where the seeds were. Sprinkle on the salt, one teaspoon for each squash half. If using recommended spices, sprinkle about a tablespoon of dark brown sugar over both halves, as well as a dash of all the other spices. Use the spices sparingly for now; you will have the opportunity to correct the seasoning later. Place the squash in the lower 1/3 of the oven and roast for approximately 40 minutes, or until the flesh can be easily pierced with a fork.

When the squash is done and has cooled slightly, scoop the flesh out into the mixing bowl and mix. You want a creamy consistency, but not so creamy as to be liquid. To achieve this, you may need to add a bit more olive oil, but the squash may be soft enough on its own. Season the mixture to taste.

Remove your fresh pasta sheets from the package, and if they are not already cut or if they are the wrong size, dust some all-purpose flour on a clean surface and use the rolling pin to roll the pasta sheets to the correct size. They should be 1/16″ thick or less, if you can manage. Make sure you have an even number of sheets. Place about 1/2 tsp to 3/4 tsp of the squash mixture every inch or so on the pasta sheet. Each sheet should make 6 large or 8 small ravioli (2 rows of 3 or 4). Place another sheet of pasta over the top, and press down (to make more uniform pockets, you could use the open end of a shot glass or wine glass to press the pasta sheets together with the filling in the center). Using your pastry cutter or paring knife, cut the ravioli into individual pieces. To seal each piece of ravioli, dip your finger in the egg/water mixture and dab it on the edges of one pasta sheet, then pinch the two pieces of pasta together, making sure not to let any of the filling escape. If your pasta has torn in places, you can use the egg-water mixture to “patch” the tears. Continue until you have used all the pasta sheets. You will probably have some squash filling left over, which you can save in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, boil the ravioli for approximately 3 minutes. They will float to the surface when they are ready. Remove to a plate covered with paper towels or a dish cloth until all the ravioli are done cooking.

Place the butter in the skillet over medium-low heat and let it melt. When it has just melted, put in the sage leaves and let them fry until crisp, swirling the butter around the skillet constantly. After about 3 minutes, the butter will begin to brown, and by swirling it, you will prevent it from burning. Plate the ravioli (about 5 per person), and pour the browned butter over the ravioli, garnishing each plate with a few sage leaves and walnut pieces. Grate cheese over the ravioli, if desired, and serve immediately.

*you may want to try other varieties, like pumpkin or acorn squash, though I find that butternut squash is less of a hassle because there are fewer seeds and they are all in one small area.

**to toast walnuts (preferably purchased in halves), heat a small sauté pan over low heat, and put the walnuts in to toast, moving them around the pan constantly, for about 5 minutes, or until the skins have browned slightly. Remove to cutting board, cool, then chop into small pieces.

p.s. – you will probably have some squash filling left over, which you can use to make soup. Simply thin it with some warmed broth or stock and a touch of heavy cream. Season to taste.

Roasted Garlic

Confession: I eat roasted garlic as if it were candy. I often will keep a small dish of roasted garlic cloves to munch on in the fridge, as the sweet and slightly-bitter taste of roasted garlic can’t be beat in my opinion. Plus, it doesn’t have the bite or dragon-breath inducing quality that raw garlic does. A couple of the soft cloves spread on toast with some crumbles of goat cheese makes the perfect snack.

But there are other ways to use roasted garlic, and I hope to convince you that it’s a great thing to have on hand. It’s great to make when whole garlic bulbs are on sale, or when your mother gives you a bag of 15 garlic bulbs she got at Sam’s Club. Hypothetically, of course.

So here’s the technique, and a couple ideas to get you going!

Roasted Garlic:

1 garlic bulb

1 Tbsp good olive oil

1 small oven-proof dish

Preheat your oven to 375 F. Separate all the cloves in the garlic bulb, but do not peel them. Carefully trim off the base of each clove with a knife, leaving the skins on. Lightly toss the cloves in the olive oil and spread them in the pan. Roast for 20-25 minutes, until a knife easily pierces the cloves, but they are not burnt (unless you like ‘em bitter!). Remove from the oven and let them cool slightly, and you’ll find the skins slide right off.

Other ideas:

Slice some roasted garlic onto some lightly fried asparagus, haricots verts, artichoke hearts–or broil the veg for 2 minutes in the same pan you used to roast the garlic. Squeeze some lemon juice on top, sprinkle on some sea salt, and you’re good to go! (see photo)

Crush some roasted garlic cloves into soft butter, mixed with a bit of paprika, some lemon juice, and salt and pepper. I promise you, this is the BEST thing you could ever put on corn on the cob. Or bread. Or fish… you get the idea.

Be imaginative, and enjoy!

Crispy Okra Raita

Summer is supposedly on the decline in other parts of the world, but here in Texas it just keeps on persevering despite all our pleas that it please just CUT. IT. OUT. I have, however, noticed in the last few days that something’s starting to feel different- something in the air, or the clouds, or the sun… or something. Inexpert opinion aside, it is a known fact that eventually summer will come to a close, and we’ll be left wishing we’d had one more chance to eat all our favorite summer vegetables… like okra!

Yes. Okra.

Why? Because okra is the best of vegetables.

Ingredients:
8oz – 1lb okra
8tbs vegetable oil (Please for the love, do not use olive oil. I made that mistake. It was horrifying.)
1 cup plain yogurt
1tsp mustard seeds
1/2tsp sugar
1/2tsp salt
1/2tsp turmeric
1/4tsp cayenne

Directions:
Cut the okra into approximately 1/4″ pieces, discarding the tips. Heat 7tbs of your oil in a medium pan over medium-high heat. Cook until crispy and browning around the edges (about 10 minutes). Drain and set aside on paper towels.

In a bowl, combine the yogurt, sugar and salt. Place the turmeric and cayenne on top of the yogurt but do not mix it in.

In a small saucepan or butter warmer heat the remaining tbs of oil over highish heat. When the oil is really hot, add the mustard seeds, immediately covering with a spatter screen (If you do not have one of these, please get one. I swear to you, this is the only reason I am still alive). When the seeds have all stopped sputtering, remove for heat and immediately pour over the yogurt. The hot oil will flash-cook the other spices, increasing and deepening their flavors.

Add the okra and stir. Chill and serve cold, or eat immediately. I’ve found that I like it both ways.

so good I almost forgot to take a picture

I just made the most amazing pizza crust. Really. And guess how long it took? MAYBE 15 minutes of active prep time – the rest was just givin’ it time to rise. I got worried that I might scare people off with the use of yeast (it seems to freak people out in a major way, but why? It’s a fun-gi!), but you know what? This is even easier than the lavash I posted about a while ago.The hardest part is waiting patiently for the dough to rise.

If you, like myself, are a pizza enthusiast impartial to The Great Thin Crust vs. Thick Crust Debate, then this pizza crust is for you. It’s kind of in the middle of everything – soft, fluffy inside, but crisp on the outside, neither cracker-like nor loaf bread-like…you get the idea. If you and yours are devotees of a particular style – I implore you to try this crust, and forget your prejudices. It’s a step in the right direction, really.

As for toppings, I’ll leave that to you. For me, this was a clean-out-the-fridge kind of pizza, but it turned out great despite my semi-bizarre topping combo of tomato sauce, thinly sliced red c potatoes, shallots and garlic, raw spinach, basil and rosemary, and fresh mozzarella. It’s a long story but the last time I went to the grocery store I was…um…plotzing for lack of a better word (It’s Yiddish, look it up). Anyway, I ended up with a bunch of random vegetables and some cheese and after 4 nights of vegetables + grains in various guises, I decided to do pizza.

SO here’s the recipe. I doubled the original recipe because if you’re making one crust, you might as well make two and have one for a rainy day. I’m lazy like that, and you probably are too, so don’t hate. BUT if you really want to just make one, you can halve the amounts. And then be sad when you’re out of pizza dough.

Pizza Crust (adapted from smittenkitchen.com, which is an absolutely fantastic website! It’s like having a foodie soulmate.)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon kosher salt (if halving, 1 tbsp = 3 tsp, so use 1 1/2 tsp)

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast – NOT instant, NOT rapid rise. ACTIVE DRY YEAST!

1 cup lukewarm water, should be between 105° F and 115° F, this is the temperature range that will activate the yeast.

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for brushing on crust later

Combine flour, salt, and yeast in a large bowl, and mix thoroughly to distribute everything evenly. Add water and olive oil, and mix with a wooden spoon until the dough starts to ‘come together.’ There will be some dry ingredients that are left unincorporated, but that’s OK.

Lightly flour a clean surface and dump contents of bowl onto this surface. Knead the dough (and this is when you can incorporate the flour and stuff that didn’t get mixed in before) for a minute or two, just until you can form dough into a ball.

Next, spray cooking spray all around the inside of your bowl (or just oil it up with some olive oil or veg. oil) and put your dough ball back in there, turning it to coat the ball evenly with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it somewhere relatively warm until it doubles in size, about 1 hour. If you have a gas pilot light, turn it on and put the bowl near there, or you could heat your oven to 150° F, turn it off, and then put the bowl in there. Basically the heat will just speed the dough rising.

When the dough has risen, you’ll take it out of the oven and put it back on your lightly floured surface. GENTLY deflate the dough by pressing your hand down on it, then fold it into a ball. Cover it loosely with the plastic wrap and wait for it to rise again, about 20 minutes.

Now you can roll it out! First, prepare a baking sheet with some cooking spray and  a sprinkling of cornmeal. Cut your ball of dough roughly in half, and wrap one half in plastic wrap, then put it in a zip-top bag and freeze it for later use (or use it now). Take the other half, reshape it into a ball, and then smush it into a disc on your floured surface. Use a rolling pin, rolling out from the center in every direction to form a circle.  The dough will rise again in the oven, so at this point, it should be stretched about half as thick as you want the end result.

Preheat your oven to 500° F or its highest setting. While the oven is preheating, top your pizza with desired toppings. If you like a crispy crust, use a pastry brush to brush the outside edge of the crust with olive oil. The pizza should bake for approximately 8-10 minutes, but if your oven gets really hot, keep an eye on the pizza. Enjoy!

potato-za

I call this one, “Shit, I Really Need To Eat All These Vegetables”

Do you ever suddenly realize that you’ve got some produce that really needs eating? Half of an onion despairing in a plastic bag in the back of the crisper, the last of a crown of broccoli, soggying basil that you got via your neighbor/boyfriend’s mom/petty theft, potatoes that are starting to get that look? Well, this actually happens to me fairly often, so here is what I do with them. The best thing about this recipe/method is that it makes as much or as little as you like, and can be personalized (great if you are entertaining a group, or children). You will need to be somewhat handy with aluminum foil.

The main things you need:
Potatoes
Onion
Basil/Rosemary/Parsley/sage (whatever you need to get rid of, or whatever your favorite dried herb happens to be)
Butter
Cream/Queso Fresca/Sour Cream/Goat Cheese (you get the idea)
Salt/Pepper

Optional and equally delicious ingredients:
Bell peppers
Broccoli

What to do:
Preheat oven to 375. Skin and cut potatoes into 1-2 inch pieces and place onto your foil (18-24 inches, for safeties sake you want more than you need). Thinly slice your onion (about 2-3 inches of an onion) and place atop the potatoes. Be generous, these guys melt into butter after they’re cooked. Chop up your herb, sprinkle atop onions and potatoes. Place about 2 tbsp butter atop, and lightly season with salt and pepper. Lastly, add a cream ingredient of your choice, I chose soft goat cheese.

Carefully pull up the sides of your foil and create a sort of pouch. You don’t want anything to drip out the sides, but don’t tightly roll it like you would a baked potato. You need to capture a little room for steam factor. Bake for 45 minutes.

If you are like me and are sleep-deprived, this is a perfect opportunity for a power nap. The buzzer will drag you out of your sleep just as you’ve become good and asleep for about 10 minutes and then you have to get up because if you don’t you’ll burn your dinner and then everyone will hate you! Just kidding. They won’t hate you. But they might secretly judge you forever. Whatever. Who cares. Just get new friends! Better friends! Screw them, what do you care anyway! Carefully remove from the oven unwrap (watch out for steam!!) and consume with gusto. Then hurry away to your study group that you really didn’t want to have tonight but somehow got talked into anyway.

<3

Vegetable Shepherd’s Pie

Vegetarian and a great way to clean out your refrigerator, shepherd’s pie is a last-minute casserole I really enjoy making.  The recipe below is more of a list of guidelines than a precise recipe.  You can make many substitutions, depending on what you have at home.

What you need:

9×13 casserole dish

approximately 4 cups mashed potatoes (I use instant, but homemade would be even better)

parmesan cheese

1 can diced tomatoes (or 1 can seasoned tomato paste and 1 roma tomato)

cooked mixed veggies (you want to end up with about 8 cups total [including the tomatoes]. You could use just about anything, but here are my recommendations: onions, sweet corn, peas, carrots, yellow squash, mushrooms, broccoli, etc. I like to use a combination of fresh and frozen veggies)

1/2 tsp dried basil leaves (or fresh)

1 tsp garlic powder (or a couple of fresh cloves)

Cooking spray

How to do it:

In a medium sauce pan, cook the onions with cooking spray until they become translucent.  Add tomatoes and spices.  Stir and add water 1/2 cup at a time as needed to prevent sticking.  Add cooked vegetables and more water as needed.  Let simmer for about 10 minutes.  The veggies should be moist and have a little juice left.

In the meantime, prepare the mashed potatoes and preheat the oven to 375.

Pout vegetable mixture into the baking dish and cover with mashed potatoes.  Spread the potatoes evenly with a spatula or knife.  Cover with parmesan cheese and garnish with basil.  Bake uncovered for approximately 25-30 minutes or until bubbly.  Let cool and enjoy.

Thai Corn Soup and Gratuitous Bell Pepper Porn.

Corn is on sale right now, 8 for $2 at Whole Foods, so I give you a most delicious summer soup recipe!

I’m not really one for exact measurements, but for the sake of clarity:
You will need:
1 onion, any color, diced
a few large cloves garlic, minced (the original recipe called for one, but I think I used at least 2, because garlic is yummyyyyy)
6 ears corn, just the kernels
1 red bell pepper, roasted, halved seeded and roughly chopped
1 can coconut milk
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cupish cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or paprika

an immersion blender or magic bullet or blender of some kind

To roast your peppers:
Cut them into large chunks, fourths works pretty well, and lightly coat in olive oil. If you don’t have an oil brush handy, a paper towel works too. BROIL on HIGH for a little while, checking them every 3 minutes or so for color. When they start to get black bubbly spots, take the pan out and carefully flip them over. BROIL some more, until the skins start to bubble (it makes them easier to peel off later). They should be very floppy and nearly disintegrate by the time you are ready to cut them.

The soup:
Heat a tablespoon or so of oil in a very large saucepan over MEDIUM HIGH heat and stir in onion and garlic. Sautee your savory little heart out, or until the onion begins to turn light brown. Add the corn kernels and cook for about 5 more minutes, stirring continuously. Add roasted pepper chunks and continue sauteing for a couple more minutes.

Reduce heat to MEDIUM LOW and add coconut milk and another cans worth of water. Simmer 15 or so minutes, whisking occasionally to help emulsify it. Smooth out the texture with an immersion blender, or if you, like me, do not have one, transfer the chunky soup into your magic bullet, smoothie it, and return it to a different pot. Continue doing this until your saucepan is empty.

Stir in cilantro, dust with paprika.

Now, this is supposed to be a chilled soup but I’ve found that it’s equally delicious when piping hot. I recommend eating it hot the first time, and eating the leftovers cold (since they’re gonna be cold anyway!)

I served my soup with a roasted bell pepper stuffed with couscous, lime juice, cilantro and queso fresco.

Enjoy!

Amazing Sugar Cookies

Hello fellow Epicureans! I’m happy to be joining you now that I’m done with classes for the summer. (Hence my absence until now.)  The Latin class I just finished was intense, but fortunately it wasn’t all work – my professor brought some amazing (and perhaps magical) sugar cookies for us one day and I’ve been able to successfully replicate them twice with her recipe. THEY ARE AMAZING.

This recipe comes from Dr. Jen Ebbeler, who received it from a female undergraduate friend, who, I’m told, was proposed to 5 times during college mostly because of these magical cookies.  Guard this recipe well. Don’t substitute ingredients!!

I usually double the recipe.  A single recipe makes 12-18 cookies, a double recipe 2-3 dozen, depending on the size of the cookie.  Also, the real secret to these cookies is to roll them out very thick, around 1/2 an inch.  They don’t rise much in the baking.  And to be sure that they just bake, but don’t overbake.  They shouldn’t get brown.  I usually take them out when the tops start to show little air bubbles.
Ingredients:

2/3 c Imperial Margarine

3/4 c sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla (I used a whole teaspoon last time and they were even better)

1 egg

4 tsp. milk

2c flour, extra for rolling dough later

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

Cream together: margarine; sugar; vanilla.

Add egg and milk and stir together.

Then slowly add flour and baking powder.  You will want to add the flour about 1/2 cup at a time as the dough becomes thick and difficult to mix.

Refrigerate dough for 1 hour.  (or a little longer, if it works out that way)

Roll out cookies on a well-floured surface.  The dough will be somewhat sticky and you’ll add more flour to make it roll-able.  Roll out dough pretty thickly.  One of the secrets to these cookies is their thickness.  Use whatever cookie cutter you wish–smaller cookies will need a bit less time to bake.

Bake at 375 for 6-8 minutes (I usually do just 6 minutes in my oven, but it cooks very fast; just keep a close eye on them until you figure out the right temp and baking time for your oven)
When cookies are cool, frost with favorite icing.  I use either store-bought cream cheese or vanilla frosting, but you could make your own favorite frosting.  It should be something fairly thick and sweet since the cookies are not very sweet, more like shortcakes than cookies.

Enjoy!

p.s. feel free to follow me on twitter: @ladyhermine

Summer Fruit Meringue Nests

The most simple summer dessert

Summer is such a glorious time of year, food-wise. Fruits and vegetables are in season and FRESH, and I could practically live off of raspberries for their whole season. Sometimes I like to challenge myself to buy massive amounts of fruits and vegetables and use them up before they go bad, because it encourages me to cook at home and eat healthily. But sometimes… I get carried away. This is why no one should have allowed me to have a Costco card. Maybe they should pre-screen for those things, because as a person with a tiny kitchen who lives (basically) by herself, I really have no use for bulk purchases. But how can I resist 2-packs of Nutella? Or gigantic bags of Stacy’s pita chips? Or…or flats of mangoes and peaches and summer berries? Well, I can’t, because I just bought some. And now I have so many to use up! Luckily, I had an idea.  I went to a cook-out today, and thought it would be nice to bring a little something. I wanted to balance the grilled stuff with something fruity and light.  I looked up recipes for all sorts of fancy desserts, but when I ran across a picture of a pavlova in last month’s Bon Appetit, I knew what I was going to make: meringue!

It saddens me that so many fruit desserts are overwhelmed by the extra doo-dads, like chocolate and butter and cream and sugar and whatever else. I mean, it’s summer, so we should be celebrating the glorious produce available, no? But sometimes you want just a little extra, if you’re bringing dessert to a cookout, for example. So my suggestion – serve fruit in meringue nests. Meringues – cookies made out of baked whipped egg whites, are delicately crunchy on the outside, light and airy on the inside. They’re lovely on their own, and as the basis for swiss buttercream and macarons, but throw a bit of fruit on top – woahhhh, buddy. You’ll see what I mean.

I also must preface this recipe by saying that these are pretty fool-proof. What I didn’t tell you about the cookout is that I woefully underestimated how long it would take me to get ready, and by the time I had beaten the egg whites, piped the meringues, and put them in the oven, it was already time to leave. I knew I wouldn’t have 30 minutes to sit around and watch them bake, so, I turned the oven off and left the meringues in the still-warm oven. The whole ride to the cookout, I thought about all those beautiful meringues that would surely never come out, and all these poor people at the cookout who would be deprived of fruity desserts. I eventually reconciled myself to the fact that the meringues were goners, since they probably cost a whopping total of about $1 to make. But to my surprise, when I came back (4 hours later) to the undisturbed meringues, they were beautifully – even perfectly – baked. No joke. So to continue with my theme of hassle-free baking, I believe these are the ultimate example. I wouldn’t *recommend* baking them this way, but I think this might put people’s fears of under- or over-baking to rest. Also, apologies for lack of pictures. As a consequence of running late, I didn’t get to take any prep pictures.

Summer Fruit Meringue Nests

adapted from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything [website & book -- Ed.]

4 egg whites, room temperature, preferably not fresh* and for goodness’ sake, please save your yolks! Don’t you know what glorious things you can do with them?

1 cup superfine sugar, organic powdered sugar, or granulated sugar run through a food processor or clean coffee grinder**

2 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp white vinegar

pinch kosher salt (non-iodized)

1 cup (aprroximately) fruit of your choice

½ cup heavy whipping cream, sour cream, or yogurt

2 tbsp dark brown sugar or plain sugar (optional)

Equipment: baking sheet, parchment paper or silicone baking mat, stand mixer with wire whip attachment or handheld mixer and metal or glass mixing bowl, piping bag and tip or plastic bag, silicone spatula

Preheat oven to 300° F. For a less chewy, drier meringue, preheat to 250° F.

Prepare baking sheet with parchment or baking mat. Put egg whites and pinch of salt in VERY clean and dry mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl (the eggs won’t peak if there is even a speck of fat from yolks or grease on your equipment), and whip them on medium speed until they become uniformly frothy and a bit opaque. Put the mixer on the lowest setting, then slowly add the vinegar. Then, add about 1/4 of the sugar,  followed by 1 tsp cornstarch, followed by another 1/4 of the sugar, then the vanilla, then 1/4 of the sugar, another tsp of cornstarch, and finally the last 1/4 of the sugar. Allow time for the mixer to  incoporate ingredients after each addition. Return to medium speed, and keep mixing until the mixture forms stiff peaks: if you stop the mixer and take out the whisk the egg whites will not droop at all. They whisk will start to leave lines in the whites which don’t collapse back into the mixture. Don’t overbeat, either! If you do, the egg whites will begin to separate – not good.

When you have achieved stiff peaks, use a spatula to transfer the mixture to a large piping bag with a star tip – bigger tip is better. Alternately, put them in a zip top bag, remove as much air as possible, and then close the bag and snip off a corner. Pipe small circles of the meringue onto the parchment paper- about 1 to 1 ½ inches in diameter if you want them to be conveniently bite-sized, or as large as 5 inches for a more substantial dessert. Stick the back of a spoon in the middle of each meringue to form a little indent (this is where your fruit will go). Bake them on a rack in the middle of the oven for approx. 30 minutes if your oven is at 300ºF, or approx. 45 minutes if at 250ºF. Check periodically to ensure that your meringues are browning evenly. You want them to be a very pale brown, something like the color a marshmallow is when you roast it just a bit over an open fire. How nostalgic. You can tap them to check if they’re done – they will sounds hollow.

While your meringue is baking you can prepare your filling. If using yogurt or sour cream, I suggest simply mixing with brown sugar. If using whipping cream, clean off your beaters and mixing bowl, dry, and then put the whipping cream in and begin beating on medium speed. I wouldn’t use sweetener because the meringue is already pretty sweet, but if you want to you can put 2 tbsp. granulated sugar in. Whip until the cream makes stiff peaks, which will look very similar to the meringue. Reserve.

Prepare your fruit by washing and drying it. You want it to be in small portions that will fit on your meringue vessels – so you could use one or two berries per meringue nest, a sliced, hulled strawberry, or a small spoonful of diced stone fruit like peaches, nectarines, plums, etc. Just use your discretion.

When the meringue nests are done and have cooled, put a small dab of sour cream/yogurt mixture or whipped cream in the center of each, and top with fruit of your choice. You could decorate it with a mint leaf if you want to be fancy! Bring to your next dinner party and prepare to accept a shower of compliments.

aerial shot of raspberry in it's meringue nest

*older egg whites (aged, if you will) have less water because over time the egg loses a lot of it’s moisture. Lower water content means the whites will not be weighed down and therefore, they whip up better. Using new egg whites isn’t the end of the world – you can microwave them for 10 to 20 seconds to achieve a similar effect. But seriously, I mean it about the egg yolks – they are the basis for all sorts of great things, like custards, curds, ice cream, etc.

**superfine sugar is simply granulated sugar run through a grinder – this is the basis for powdered (confectioner’s) sugar. However, in commercially produced powdered sugar, cornstarch is added to prevent caking. Different brands use different amounts, so to prevent the ratios in this recipe from becoming skewed, it is best to control the cornstarch ratio yourself. If you must use regular powdered sugar, reduce the cornstarch by 1 tsp. If using organic powdered sugar, reduce cornstarch by ½ tsp.

———–

Note: This recipe easily lends itself to variations. You can use practically any kind of fruit, you can put some cocoa powder in the whipped cream to make chocolate whipped cream, you could use ganache or jam or custard or a citrus curd in place of the whipped cream/yogurt/sour cream, etc. You could also form the meringue into a pavlova – basically a giant meringue cake – just take the whipped meringue and dump it onto the center of a prepared baking sheet in a rough circle, then smooth the sides and bake it, probably for a bit longer than specified for the meringue nests above.  Good luck, and enjoy your lovely sumemr produce!

Risotto with Roasted Vegetables

When I spent a month of study in Rome last summer, I quickly got tired of making yet another pasta dinner before running off to read for my courses or explore the city with friends.  Unfortunately, the tiny kitchenette in my apartment — the cupboards on the two facing walls could not be opened simultaneously — couldn’t really support grander endeavors.  So for variety in my choice of quick, cheap meal at home (a necessity, given prices in the Eternal City), I turned to an old favorite: risotto.

Now, I imagine this will strike some of you as a peculiar claim.  Risotto has come to be synonymous with hours of endless stirring, only mitigated by the sublime creaminess that results.  But as I had already found out serendipitously a few months before going to Italy, this is balderdash. While it is true that you shouldn’t plan on doing much else for about 15 minutes in the crucial phase of cooking, because the preparation time is so minimal, you’ll be enjoying that creamy texture soon enough.

The other crucial part is getting the right kind of rice.  I am told (thanks, Wikipedia) that the texture and cooking properties of risotto depend on the starch content of the rice.  I invariably use Arborio, which is a short-grain rice that absorbs the broth well and is commonly available in large supermarkets.  I’m less sure about where to acquire Carnaroli, which is touted as a superior option, and it’s bound to be more expensive.  One of the perks of making risotto in Italy was that Arborio was very cheap at Standa, probably thanks the same food subsidies that left 500g (a little over a pound) of pasta costing € 0.55 (around 6 bits)!

The really delightful thing about risotto, though, is its susceptibility to unlimited variation.  Flip through an Italian cookbook or troll the internet and you’re bound to find dozens upon dozens of options.  I like having roasted vegetables on mine.  The lovely Roman zucchini, which has ridges and a brilliantly hued orange-and-green floret (itself delicious when fried), ornamented my Italian attempts, plentiful and cheap as it was in the corner market at the end of my alleyway.

Making risotto doesn't require much room

Here’s a recipe for the version I made more recently in my slightly more functional Austin kitchen.

Ingredients

• 4 cups stock
• 1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
• 2 medium-sized zucchinis or bell peppers, chopped
• 1/2 medium-sized onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• freshly grated parmesan cheese
• freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Prepare the stock and set aside.  I use this brand for its wonderful, rich flavor.  Bland or weak stock kills a risotto.
2. Roast or sauté the zucchini or bell pepper by your favorite method.  I’ve always wanted to try using a blow-torch myself.
3. In a medium-sized pot, melt some butter or heat olive oil on medium-high and soften the onions and garlic for a few minutes.
4. Stir in the rice and toast lightly for 2 minutes.
5. Add 1/2 cup of the stock and stir gently until the rice absorbs nearly all of it.  Repeat, adding 1/2 cup of stock at a time and stirring constantly.  This process should take about 15 minutes.
6. Before adding the last 1/2 cup of stock, add in the roasted or sautéed vegetables.
7. As the risotto finishes absorbing the last of the stock, turn the heat off.  Serve immediately, sprinkling parmesan and black pepper ad libitum.

Risotto with roasted bell peppers